Hayato Ren forcefully flicked his right hand to the side, instantly shaking the blood off the blade.
Then, he spun the sword in a flourish before sheathing it.
After completing this fluid series of movements, Hayato Ren glanced at the three Rain Ninjas who were getting further away and curled his lips into a cold smirk.
He drew three kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch and threw them in one swift motion.
Hearing no sounds of pursuit from behind, the three Rain Ninjas simultaneously showed expressions of relief at having narrowly escaped death.
Just as they were celebrating their narrow escape, the familiar sound of cutting through air came from behind.
Three distinct "thud" sounds echoed one after another, followed by the noise of three corpses hitting the ground, their throats pierced by kunai.
After confirming that the three Rain Ninjas had completely lost their vital signs, Hayato Ren shook his head and continued wandering while leading his horse.
He muttered softly under his breath:
"One, two... twenty-three."
Clearly, those four unfortunate souls just now happened to be the twenty-third lives taken by Hayato Ren.
Hayato Ren's efficiency was quite remarkable, especially considering he had only arrived three days ago.
This was because Hayato Ren always adhered to one principle: the most perfect stealth was to eliminate all enemies who had seen him.
Perhaps due to the war, the strongest Rain Ninjas he encountered along the way were only at Chunin level.
Rain Ninjas of this caliber meeting Hayato Ren could only meet the fate of being cut in two - he didn't even need to use Ninjutsu, let alone trouble Charizard.
Thus, Hayato Ren began a frenzied slaughter throughout the Rain Country.
Half a month later, looking at the old man before him, Hayato Ren felt like a thousand alpacas were stampeding through his mind.
"I only killed a few Chunin and Genin, right? Was it necessary for someone of your stature to come find me personally? Is the Rain Ninja Village that idle?"
Indeed, blocking Hayato Ren's path was a long-renowned existence in the Shinobi World - the Rain Shadow of the Rain Ninja Village, Hanzo, hailed as the Demigod of the Shinobi World.
Hanzo wore a heavy breathing mask to prevent himself from being affected by the toxins in his body. The black sickle in his hand resembled the sickle of the Grim Reaper, having harvested countless lives.
Hanzo glanced at Hayato Ren, then a hoarse voice emerged from behind the heavy breathing mask:
"You must be the recently famous White Reaper, right? I've finally found you. Prepare to go to hell."
Because Hayato Ren preferred using the silver-white long sword given to him by Mikoto to behead his enemies, over time he earned the edgy title "White Reaper."
Seeing that Hayato Ren didn't respond, Hanzo didn't say anything more but instead swung his sickle fiercely in that direction.
With a sharp "swish" sound of a blade cutting through the air, a cloud of toxic mist rapidly drifted toward Hayato Ren's direction.
Wherever the toxic mist passed, even the resilient weeds instantly withered, demonstrating the potency of its Toxin.
Without the slightest hesitation, Hayato Ren immediately summoned Charizard and had it carry him high into the air.
In no time, the toxic mist spread to the spot where Hayato Ren had just been standing.
The old horse that had accompanied Hayato Ren for over half a month instantly turned into a pile of bones.
After glancing at the tragic state of the old horse, Hayato Ren shouted to Charizard:
"Charizard, give that old bastard below a taste of fire."
Charizard opened its mouth and shot a Flame Jet toward the ground.
Feeling the rapidly rising temperature around him, Hanzo couldn't help but mutter:
"This Summoning Beast's Fire Release is incredibly powerful. Why have I never seen it before?"
Then, Hanzo formed hand seals and shouted:
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Where the flames and water dragon collided, dense steam immediately formed, obscuring all vision in the vicinity.
Seizing this opportunity, Hayato Ren quickly whispered to Charizard:
"Charizard, let's get out of here. We're no match for that old bastard yet. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. We'll come back to deal with him after Tyranitar evolves into Tyranitar."
Understanding the command, Charizard flapped its wings and fled into the distance.
At that moment, an icy voice suddenly rang out beside Hayato Ren.
"Hmph, trying to escape? Not so easy."
The voice was like a thunderclap, startling Hayato Ren tremendously.
Hayato Ren looked toward the source of the voice and saw that Hanzo had somehow appeared behind him.
Then Hayato Ren suddenly remembered - besides his famous Toxin that was renowned throughout the Shinobi World, Hanzo also possessed exquisite mastery of the Water Body Flicker Technique.
He must have used the Water Body Flicker Technique to appear on Charizard's back.
With a "poof" sound, Charizard and Hayato Ren instantly disappeared from Hanzo's sight.
Losing his support, Hanzo immediately began falling from high altitude.
However, Hanzo showed no panic on his face, instead calmly wondering how Hayato Ren had disappeared.
"Reverse Summoning Technique? What a cunning brat. Next time we meet, I won't let you off so easily."
Just before his head was about to make intimate contact with the ground, Hanzo exerted force with his body and landed standing upright.
Meanwhile, Hayato Ren somewhat frantically wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The more than half month of easily defeating weak opponents had given him the illusion that his strength was sufficient to dominate the Shinobi World.
Otherwise, he would have immediately returned to the Summoning World upon first seeing Hanzo.
Instead of thinking about exchanging a few moves with him. If Hanzo hadn't been showboating by saying that line,
Hayato Ren's head might already have been severed by Hanzo's sickle, as neither he nor Charizard had detected Hanzo's approach at all.
After deeply reflecting on his overconfident behavior, Hayato Ren shoved a bottle of Antidote into both his and Charizard's mouths.
Although Hanzo hadn't actively launched an attack earlier, the Toxin surrounding him had quietly infiltrated both Hayato Ren and Charizard's bodies.